THE Philippine government is eyeing a $7.3-million grant from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (Koica), in line with the implementation of the first phase of the proposed electronic invoicing (e-invoicing) system project under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has reported.
A statement from the Department of Finance (DOF) on Sunday pointed out that the BIR is already in the process of preparing a feasibility study in cooperation with Koica for the implementation of the e-invoicing system.
BIR Deputy Commissioner Arnel SD. Guballa said that a Koica team visited the agency and the DOF last year to gather data in preparation for the feasibility study on the proposed Electronic Receipt, Invoice and Sales Reporting System.
In his report to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III during a recent executive committee meeting, Guballa pointed out that the BIR has already identified the list of 100 pilot taxpayers that will take part in the project, and conducted a consultative forum with stakeholders in 2018.
“The review of the final report and the terms of reference of the Asian Development Bank-funded consultants are now ongoing for the e-invoicing project,” Guballa said.
Under Republic Act 10963 or the TRAIN law, large taxpayers and exporters are required, within the next five years, to electronically issue their invoices and receipts, as well as report their sales data to the BIR at the point of sale.
In June 2018, the DOF reported that the Philippines proposed three infrastructure projects for possible financing by South Korea, with a combined project cost of $191 million, namely: the $50-million loan to help fund the Project Preparation Facility for the National Irrigation Administration, including the Asbang (Davao del Sur) Small Reservoir Irrigation Project; $100 million for the New Dumaguete Airport Development Project; and the $41.13 million for the implementation of an Electronic Receipt and Invoice System, and Electronic Sales Reporting System.
In October of the same year, Dominguez revealed that the Philippine government was looking to establish an e-invoicing system by 2020, which will allow for the implementation of a value-added tax refund system for tourists visiting the country, with hopes that it will be implemented in two years.
The Electronic Receipt, Invoice and Sales Reporting System is meant to help the Philippines improve its revenue-monitoring mechanisms.
Based on data from the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), South Korea is the Philippines’s sixth-largest provider of official development assistance (ODA), with loans and grants provided to the country amounting to $570.60 million as of December 2017.